Preformed step



June 7, 1932. w- L.. NlcoLs PREFORMED STEP Filed Oct. 5, 1929 r-zvento-r W :Attorneys Patented June 7, 1932 UNITED .SlAT-Esf l e r WILLIAM LEWELLYN moons, or TUSCUMBIA, nLAfBniiril.v

`Pitnronlvrlin STEP f applicati@ mea october 5, 1929. seai 119-397,683.

M invention relates to :steps and has .for its o ject the provision of a structure Vofthe character designated which may be easilyand inexpensively manufactured and shipped Y"5 knockdow-n for assembly atlthe place ofuse.

Animportant object of my invention is -to provide Ja novel and effective means to inte-1'-V -lock the `Ithreads and vrisers .to eachother `and to the `stringersso that, while they vare ready1Q ily demountable 'the 'treads and risers .are

'nevertheless firmly 'and Vpositively held inV .place while mounted on the stri-ngers. My means Vfor locking the three step piecesltogether is suitable for use with precast .con-

Tv115 cretefstep members and will permit concrete steps to 'be provided by assembling and vinterllockingsuch yprecast members, or treads'or risers may be of wood and the stringers of concrete,` or theV Stringers `of wood andthe treads or risers of concrete 'or any other desirable material. My invention isalso applicable tothe open style of steps in which the risers-are omitted. c

A further object of my invention is to pro- 725 vide a' structure which will overcomeXa-ny possibility of the stringers, when formed of con-i crete, breaking due to a settling movement of their lower ends which usually rest on thel ground without a suitable foundation to support them. Y

Briefiy, my invention comprises a pair of stringers formed of any suitable material, preferably precast Vreinforced concrete, each of which is provided with a vertical block' '316 attached inside at its uppervend for engagement with a spacer bar which conne-cts the spaced. stringers and is adapted to be` secured to a house sill. The desired number of notches are formed along the upper edge of the stringers and suitable demountable locking means are provided for engaging and mountV ing the treads and risers on the stringers.

A construction embodying invention is illustrated in the accompanying dra-wing, forming a part of this specification, wherein Fig. l is a plan view of the stringers showing the manner of spacing and securing same to the sill of a house, the treads and risers being removed therefrom.

features of myl .Fg. 2 is an .enlarged sect-ionalview ltaken along the line III-Hof Fig. l." v c Fig-3 isa Vfron-t elevational view of nue o-f thenstringers. c

Y Fig. 4 is an :enlarged along the line IV-IVof Fig. 2. n

Fig. 5 isla perspective view of ,atread Fig. 6 isa front elevationall view of a riser, and Y c v Fig. 7 is La fragmentary view yin side .elevation of a modified form of my *inveinticu,V parts being broken-away-to .show the manner of securing the innerside of a tread when risers ,are not nosed.

' Referring now to thedrawingffdrabetter 15 understanding of'my invention, I show apair of stringers 5 and :6 Which-.are preferably formed `of precast AV-c; r icrete 'pand having notches formed along vtheir V upper edges adapted'tofreeeve .treads A7and-8 and, .where zo such are desired, Vthe V,risers':and11. Ananchor block-l2 is ,secured to 7the upper end of each Stringer bymeans ofrboltslj which have theirheads embedded lin theirrespective stringers and their other yends threaded to l.75 -receive nutslll. The sstringers are heldin a spaced 4relatie-neto eachother byafspaeerv bar l1'6 which is secured ateachend to anafnchor vblockbyfnails `1,7. `The spacerbar formsthat part o'f the :stepswhichfis secured .toa` house .go sill A18,^a,s'bynails-19.

The -upper .tread `-Jis `secured to fthe Y strangers:byastaplesz2L-fbolts 2,2.-and nut'sq23.

.Each staple vhas its one leg embedded lin a f edge :ofthe ftread, and its ,intermediate fpor- :tion stands :flush with :the fear edge fof the stringen and tread ,7.1 y"lf-SlOtSfQ, are foundjin Athe outer` corners of eachftread support along the. stringersi and are adapted to receivejthe :.90 bolts 22 for engagement with fthe nuts 23 which are embedded. in the treads. Theitread l8-3is, secured f. tothe stringers a-t its V'outer` edge .byfbolts26-and lnuts 27 in slotsf24-f-.w-hieh are similar to :f the bolts 22,;nu'ts 23 and: slot;;2 4 A19.5 Yabove described. Thegtreads 8 isa-lsoA secured at its vinner edge iby the-riserz9A1 and'by. plates 28 ywhich are mounted vin' slots'formeduatthe insidecornen of each notchralong the st-ringerA l and .are adapted engageslfots.w22/formed 10.0

sectional view Q5 risers 9 and 11 alongtheir upper edges. The

tread 8 is formed with a recess 33 into which the lower edge of theriser 9 is sea-ted. .The lower yedge of thel riser11. is securedlto the to engagerbolts 35 which extend l'through holes formed in the risen invention in'which, the means 'for securing Y the inner end ofthe tread 36 consists of `a' plate 37 having its "oneend mounted in a slot formed in the Stringer' 38 and itsother mountedin a slot formed in the inner edge of' the tread. This means-for securing thel tread at its inner end is employed whenrisers are notused. I l r In assembling this structure, the anchor blocks l2, whichhave been securedV to the stringers 5 and 6 during the forming operation, have the spacer bar 16 nailed thereto. This part of the structure comprises' the frame of the steps whichfis then secured to the house sill 18 by nails 19 driven through thespacer bar.' The upper tread7 is then 'mounted across the stringers and is secured in position b-y staples Q1 and bolts 22 which can be tightened by inserting a tool in the slot Q4 and Vturning the `bolt to screw it into its respective nut 23 inthe tread. The riser 9 is then positioned having its upper edge secured against. the Vertical face of the Stringer by the shoulder 32 formed on the tread 7 and the slots 31 formed in its lower edge are engaged by the plates 28. The lower edge of the Vriser 9 is secured-against outward movement by the tread 8 which, in turn, is secured in position. by the plates 28 and the bolts 26 and nuts 27.A The'riser 11 is then interlocked with the stringers by theengagevided with undercut sockets opening through both horizontal and vertical faces of tread supports, and a tread having depending complemental attachment elements adapted to slidably intertit and interlock in said sockets, said attachment elements being bolts and the undercut portion of the socket opening through the front edge of the Stringer and enlarged to receive a tool by which the bolts I A. canv be engaged and tightened to assemble the stringers by meansofmnuts 34 Vwhich arev embedded in the stringers and are adaptedv Y treads on the'stringers.

l 2.Y-Steps comprising concrete stringersi, concrete treads, means to interlock the treads n on the stringers byan inward movement into Fig. 7 illustrates a modified form of my operating position thereon, risers adapted to interlock topv and bottom with the'trealds,fa`nd exposed means to demountably connect the bottom .riser to the stringers thereby to interlock all parts in place. -V

3. Steps comprising stringers, treads, means adapted to interlock the treads on the stringers, said stringers bei-ng formed with integral thickened top. tread supports having anchor bolts projecting inwardly therefrom and embedded therein, wooden cleats connected tothe strin gers by said'bolts and oifset from the rear edge of the stringers, and a tie board spiked to the cleats and adapted to be nailed yto the house sill.

1; Steps comprising. stringers Jformed of concrete having suitable tread supports, concretetreads mounted on said supports, a holddown bolt anchored. in and depending from the treads near each end thereof, and means ment therewith of the shoulder 32 formed on the tread 8 and by the nuts 34 and bolts 35.'

Where risers are not used, see Fig.7, pilates are mounted vhorizontally in slots formed in each Stringer 37 andare adaptedY to engage with suitable slots Vformed in the rear edge.

of the tread 36 which has nofnotch 33 Abut abuts against the vertical edge of the stringer.

Though I .have described with `great particularity the detailsof the embodiment ot the invention hereinshown, it is not to 'beA construed that I amlimited thereto, as changes in arrangement and substitution of equivalents'may bemade' by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined infthe appended claims..

' 1.'Steps comprising stringers molded of `fire and weather resistant material and pro- 

